The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has allocated a P5-million budget for the feasibility study (FS) of the proposed Talibon-Bien Unido Bridge which has been sought to cut travel time between the two towns’ main districts.
According to Second District Rep. Aris Aumentado, the FS is now up for bidding but no timetable for the project has been set yet.
“Ipa-bid pa ang FS, wala pa hibaw-i [ang start],” said Aumentado.
Aumentado noted that the infrastructure project has been seen to boost tourism and commerce in Talibon, Bien Unido and neighboring towns in the district.
“As a result, more business, like the transport of goods from one town to the other, can be done in a day,” said Aumentado.
The bridge was projected to cut the travel distance from the two municipalities’ main districts to five kilometers from 20 km.
“The proposed project will cut the travel time between the two municipalities, thereby potentially improving the commercial interaction, mobility, transfer of goods and transport to and from the two towns,” he added.
Initial plans for the project indicated that the bridge will connect Baranagay San Isidro in Talibon and Barangay Nueva Esperanza in Bien Unido.
According to Aumentado, the project was proposed through the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program which was implemented to drive economic progress in the country through infrastructure projects.
The town of Talibon has been deemed to be the center for commerce and industry in the northern part of Bohol.
The Garcia Memorial Provincial Hospital, Bohol Institute of Technology International College, Blessed Trinity College and Alturas-Talibon Branch are all located in Talibon.
The Talibon-Bien Unido link is among the many projects conceptualized by Aumentado’s late father, former governor and congressman Erico Aumentado.
In 2015, the younger Aumentado filed House Bill 4870 which seeks the construction of the link which will be named President Garcia Bridge, named after the only Boholano President, Carlos P. Garcia who has been widely deemed as Bohol’s most illustrious son. (Rey Tutas)